Automate Language Translation by Humans in the Cloud

In the age of globalization, language translation is one of the key functions that makes sure that the message is delivered in the target language in the original intended fashion. There are various APIs available that do automated translation but we have seen a rise in the number of translation services provided by companies that are backed by human translators. These firms automate the entire process of submitting projects, getting quotes, approving the quotes, providing feedback and other functions via an API. Translation Cloud, a provider of translation services has announced its Translation Cloud API.

Translation Cloud is an application created by Translation Services USA, that is an automated system for conducting transactions via its community of language translators. The company states that they have 10,000+ translators in their network with a goal of reaching 100,000+ translators in the near future. The Translation Cloud API allows developers to automate the entire workflow of submitting the translation job, viewing quotes and then submitting and reviewing the job done by the translator. Key in this release is the focus on providing the translation rank for the translator.

You need to sign up for an API Key to get started with the Translation Cloud API. The API is REST based and uses the API Key as a parameter for authentication. There are several methods available like getting available translators, creating a project, getting prices, getting the translation and also a list of languages. Refer to the documentation for more details. You can also try out the API by visiting the Code Playground where you can exercise each of the API calls in a test sandbox.

For the Translators, the company provides a Facebook Application that they can logon to, get work orders to do the translation and on successful and acceptable submission, they can paid directly via Paypal.

The rise in the number of companies that provide manual translation services indicates that quality of translation is of utmost importance in this service segment. Google Translate API that was best known for automated translation services had moved on to a paid model last year, as a result of which it has opened up the space significantly for other players to take over.

The companies that provide human translators insist that the best translation can only be provided by humans. The general trend is that if you have to absolutely get it accurate, in the world of language translation, humans rule over machines.